| The expertise and experience of the lecturer/guides who sail with the Explorer are instrumental in making travel aboard "the little red ship" unique. Our team of renowned Antarctic naturalists briefs you in advance about the natural wonders, wildlife, geology and history of the White Continent. They escort each shore excursion and, later, recap the day's discoveries at informal get-togethers. And, because the Explorer carries an unusually small number of passengers, interaction between lecturers and travellers can be as close as you wish it to be. Briefings and landings are scheduled as frequently as possible, with the understanding that, while some passengers will want to do all they can, others prefer to relax and observe at their own pace. | 
The quality of the Explorer's lecturer/guides set this ship apart from all others. | |
| Joining you will be experts the caliber of: | ||
| Dr.T.H. Baughman | ||
Travel with zoologists, historians, explorers and geologists, sharing their personal interests and points of view. |
Tim's involvement in Antarctica began with his participation in field work in Marie Byrd Land in 1973. A polar historian specializing in the Antarctic, Tim has published two books on the history of Antarctica and has presented papers on polar history in both the U.S. and Great Britain. | |
| Tony Chater | ||
| Tony emigrated to the Falklands almost 25 years ago and is recognized as one of the Islands' leading naturalists. A noted artist, long way towards describing what life inside this furthest-flung outpost of the British Empire is all about. | ||
| Dr. Jack Child | ||
| Jack has established a number of scholarly monographs and computer software programs dealing with Latin American politics and Antarctica, including Geopolitics and Conflict in South America, which discusses the political relationship of Antarctica with her Latin American neighbors. He was very active in the analysis of the Falkland Islands war. His most recent book is Antaraica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. | ||
| Kim Crosbie | ||
Visitors hike up the slope of Deception Island's Crater |
Kim is a doctoral student at Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge, England, investigating ecological monitoring and management in Arctic, Antarctic and Atlantic waters. | |
| Matthew Drennan | ||
| Since contracting "polar fever" during his first visit to Antarctica in 1987, Matt has developed an intimate knowledge of the area, on nearly 60 voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula. Recognized as one of Antarctica's most experienced expedition leaders, he has also done considerable research with seabirds and whales. Matt has taught ornithology at the National Audubon Ecology Camp in Maine, and leads whale and seabird watching trips when he is not aboard the Explorer. | ||
| Dr. Ralph Eshelman | ||
Professional naturalists accompany each offshore excursion. |
Ralph is a specialist in maritime history, geology and vertebrate paleontology. He combines these interests with coastal exploration and research, with a special interest in islands. He has led paleontological and speleological expeditions, many sponsored by National Geographic Society. His interest in the history of exploration and maritime history often overlaps with his physical science interests. Ralph is former director of a marine museum and an estuarine research laboratory, and a Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution. | |
| Wally Herbert | ||
| Wally is a rare pioneer-"a phenomenon," according to Lord Shackleton, "who has travelled further and more uncomfortably in the polar regions than any explorer alive today." During the course of his distinguished polar career, he has spent 13 years living in polar regions, travelling well over 25,000 miles in open boats and with dog teams. In the Antarctic in the late1950s and early 1960s he mapped on foot some 46,000 square miles of new country and came within only two hundred miles of achieving his first great burning ambition: reaching the South Pole with sledges and dogs. In recognition of his achievements he has received a string of honors, among them the Polar Medal and Bar, the gold medals of several Geographic Societies and the highest honor of the Explorers Club-the so-called "Explorers Medal." Wally is also a prize-winning author with nine books to his credit and an artist whose paintings have been bought by Royals and collectors all over the world. | ||
| Larry Hobbs | ||
| Larry has been involved in marine mammal research and in teaching natural history for more than 25 years. His academic training is in zoology, with graduate work in marine biology. An entertaining speaker, he leads natural history tours for various universities, the Smidisonian Institution, and other prestigious organizations, and has been travelling to Antarctica for the past ten years. | ||
| Megan McOsker | ||
| Megan has spent a number of years working on a variety of seabird research projects and she has also conducted field work on Magellanic penguins in Punta Tombo, Argentina. Her experience also includes extensive whale research experience at the remote research station on Mt.Desert Rock in Maine and off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. Nineteen ninety six marks the fifth year she has returned to the Antarctic. | ||
| Dr. John Reynolds | ||
| John worked for five years with the British Antarctic Survey in the Antarctic Peninsula, including the austral summers of '78-'79 and '79-'80 as a glaciologist/geologist. His field work has also taken him to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. His work in the Deep South has resulted in a great knowledge of the history and early exploration of the region, with his book, Going South: an Antarctic Erperience, recounting his experiences in the Antarctic. | ||
| Kim Robertson | ||
| Kim has served as a naturalist for whale-watching boats and has investigated the group structure and genetic diversity of the North Atlantic humpback whale breeding populations in the Dominican Republic. Her research on the individual identification of whales took her to Antarctica during the austral summers of '90-'91 and '91 -'92. She has worked as expedition leader, naturalist or lecturer aboard the Explorer each Antarctic season since 1992. | ||
| Dr. Bernard Stonehouse | ||
| Bernard first worked in Antarctica as a meteorologist and pilot shortly after World War II. As a biologist, with particular interests in penguins, seals and whales, he has maintained research interests in Antarctica-indeed in polar regions-ever since. Based at Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, U.K., he is currently investigating the management of polar tourism. Victoria Underwood Victoria and the Explorer have a long history together, beginning in 1986 with her position as Operations Manager and, since 1992, as Staffing Coordinator and Cruise Director. In the off-season she is A&K's resident expert on Antarctic-related matters and represents the company at meetings of the National Science Foundation and the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators; in 1995 she was elected by the membership to the Executive Commmittee. She is co-author of the Polar Research Board's report, Science and Stewardship in the Antarctic. | ||
| Marc Weber | ||
| Marc has worked for the United States Antarctic Program at McMurdo Station during the austral summers of '80-'81 and '81-'82, and has traveled to Antarctica as a naturalist/lecturer on many occasions since. His research and field work has taken him from Antarctica to the Arctic and, following his 1982 field season at McMurdo Station, he was awarded the United States Antarctic Service Medal. | ||
| Charles Wheatley | ||
| Charley is a marine biologist, oceanographer, research diver and internationally recognized photographer, with extensive experience in tropical, temperate and polar waters. He is a marine naturalist and lecturer at Scripps Aquarium and teaches oceanography and environmental sciences in San Diego, Califomia. He has been an integral part of the Explorer's expedition team since 1987 as lecturer, divemaster and/or expedition leader, participating in over 75 voyages, including many trips to Antarctica, the Falklands and South Georgia. | ||